And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. (Revelation 7:4)
According to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Jesus spoke of those that would receive the Seal of the Living God before the end of the world.
When they should have received the Holy Ghost, then they would always know what they should do. He addressed some words to Peter on the subject of penance and absolution, and afterward spoke to them all about the end of the world and of the signs that would precede it. A man enlightened by God would have visions on that subject. By these words, Jesus referred to John's revelations, and He Himself made use of several similar illustrations. He spoke, for instance, of those that would be marked with the sign on their forehead, and said that the fountain of living water which flowed from Calvary's mount would at the end of the world appear to be almost entirely poisoned, though all the good waters would finally be gathered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Some prophets of old had distinctive marks on their forehead. There are traditions in the East of marking the forehead with a single dot in the Bindi decoration worn for various occasions or a triangle of dots marked on the bride and groom in a Buddhist wedding. Of course Roman Catholics anoint a newly baptized with sacred oil on the forehead in the sign of the Cross and we cross the forehead with ashes at the beginning of Lent.
This is all very intuitive. The mark relates to the Prefrontal cortex, a crucial brain-organ which is responsible for what they term executive function. Executive function is an abstract concept nesting together all sorts of brain works that the Prefrontal cortex is responsible for such as to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and evil, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current actions, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social "control" (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially unacceptable outcomes). So you see there is a moral as well as a sort of predictive relations nested into the work of the Prefrontal cortex. This brain region is also crucial for interpreting reality. Just last year, neuroscientists discovered that lymph vessels run up through the brain even to the Prefrontal cortex, connecting the brain to the immune system. It is said that most humans do not fully develop their Prefrontal cortex until their mid twenties.
These to me are interesting connections. Assuming Faith, the Spirit must stimulate the Prefrontal cortex, preveniently and gratuitously, so that one may act Divine, as a matter of course especially for any Christian but also everyone. The belief that many will be signed on the forehead before the end of the world with a miraculous Cross would seem to suggest that these would have moral and prophetic charisms, maybe even a healing charism, which will be used to help direct, convert, save from calamities, and heal . . . many. Perhaps those of the East might respond to this miraculous sign more keenly, leading them into the Universal Church.
I think the Seal of the Living God will be a miraculous cruciform stigmata or wound imparted on the forehead. Perhaps it will bleed once a week as a memorial of Jesus' Passion and Death. There is this holy and mystical priest from the Diocese of Krk, Croatia named Zlatko Sudac who seems to be pre-sealed. He has a miraculous cruciform wound on his forehead. Some have speculated that he might be the figure in Catholic prophecy known as the Angelic Shepherd. So perhaps this Seal is soon coming for those it is destined to be imparted to.
We need this gift, even if we don't deserve it.
